Tag: documentary

  • Vegetarian Anniversary!

    As I was going through my blog archives, trying to figure out what I was doing exactly one year ago hoping it would inspire me for a new post, I discovered that today’s a special day.

    Exactly one year ago (to the hour), I was watching a film called Earthlings, somewhat horrified I should mention. I’ve always said I thought being a vegetarian was noble, but I simply loved meat too much to become one. I ate meat 2-3 times per day. I loved meat. All of that changed over the course of one documentary. One of the greatest documentaries I’ve ever seen, I should add, with a great soundtrack provided by Moby. I decided I could no longer be a hypocrite.

    Earthlings


    .

    After watching the film, I simply could not eat meat anymore, so I quit. For a while, I thought, not expecting myself to even last 2 months. I’ve exceeded my expectations by far… It has now been a year since I last ate meat (minus the grasshoppers).

    It was never my intention, but it turns out that becoming a vegetarian is actually easier than stopping to be a vegetarian. Who would have thought.

    Please take a moment to watch this documentary. I’ve heard many people say that they don’t really want to know where their meat comes from, or what happens to the animals before they eat them. This is a bs excuse. You are consuming them, so you are responsible. At least look at what you are doing. I’m not asking you to stop eating meat, but at least make yourself aware of what you’re doing.

    Saying that you don’t want to know what you are partly responsible for is like the 1930’s/40’s Germans ignoring what was being done onto the Jewish population during the second World War. Yes. Suffering is done upon animals in a massive scale, an inconceivable scale. Just imagine the number of turkeys killed for thanksgiving.

    I’m fine with people’s choice to eat meat. As long as it is a choice. Think about what you consume. You are responsible.

    If you wish the world was different, if you wish things were not this way… then change what you can. Start with yourself. The rest will follow. You cannot expect the world to change first. You take the first step.

    It all starts with informing yourself. Watch Earthlings.

  • Crossing The Bridge – The Sound of Istanbul

    Last night I was relaxing a bit, since that’s the main reason why I came to Sofia, and I was looking for some documentaries on Istanbul. Hoping to learn about some interesting things I didn’t know yet in my current hometown, I came across a famous 2005 documentary called Crossing The Bridge – The Sound of Istanbul. It shows a lot of the music and culture that Istanbul has to offer, but also captures the daily life quite well. From rock to gypsie to Turkish traditional to rap to the whirling dervishes… It’s all in there! Without further ado… the documentary. (some commentary below)

    Press CC to turn subtitles on. The subtitling is decent and sometimes inaccurate (both for the German as well as the Turkish parts). However it doesn’t prevent one from enjoying and understanding the documentary. So don’t let it hold you back. If you prefer to watch the video on Google Video’s site, click here.

    My commentary
    Ok, so most of the sights seem really special, right? 
    That’s what I see every day. The sunsets, the Bosphorus… If I want to go to the European side, I go on one of the ferries displayed in the documentary.

    At some point the video shows a group of rappers walking the street (one of them stops to say hi to a girl that’s on the phone)… I walk that street every day. It’s the street that goes from the main Kadıköy busstation to my neighbourhood, Moda. The next shot shows them walking down a street and it has the Bosphorus in the background… I walk down that street every day too. 🙂

    I thought this documentary shows the daily life and the cultural life in Istanbul quite well. Some I have experienced, some I will experience, and some I will probably not experience. Having seen this documentary, I’m more inspired than ever to make the best out of my time… living in Istanbul!

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